The Landlord Next Door
by SavageTrickster
Summary: AU. Moving into London, she was just another girl trying to graduate with a degree. But how did an innocent move result in her rooming with the world's most arrogant, egoistical twenty year old man? Ciel Phantomhive is insufferable, but as time passes, she soon realizes that he is much more - the heir to an international corporation and the world's largest pain in the butt. Ciel/OC
1. House Rules

I missed writing Kuroshitsuji and specifically Ciel Phantomhive. Ciel has been an interesting character I've grown to love writing. I took many learning points while I was writing 'Tainted' which I have loved and hated at the same time. After 'Tainted' was complete, I realized I really miss being immersed into the world of Kuroshitsuji hence here is my second one.

This one here is a modern AU but it is enough for me to get back into the world I keep looking back on. I kind of dislike my summary so it may be temporary.

 **Disclaimer:** Kuroshitsuji is not mine but Yana Toboso-sensei's. Everything here are fictional except for the brands or anything from our world mentioned in the story.

* * *

 **Chapter 01** – **House Rules**

* * *

 **France, Paris.**

Reporters from all over world faced their cameramen, addressing their country's viewers through the live cameras rolling. The huge posters of the different world-famous models hung high up in full view and a sea of people – fans, reporters and cameramen alike – crowded around the red carpet rolled out for the models that were about to walk down.

Today was one of the world's much anticipated grand event, _The Pinnacle_ , ran by an influential, powerful figure in the fashion world nicknamed 'The Undertaker'. The various major fashion industries in the world – Prada, Chanel, Gucci, Burberry, Phantom, etc. – had brought out all their latest designs for the biggest show of the season.

For past weeks as the event drew closer, there was an intense coverage on the event – which famous fashion designer has arrived in Paris, which model was spotted strolling down the streets etc. The celebrity models were, naturally, always the hottest feature of their discussions.

Like how any similar events started, the special guests had to turn up first.

The eager chatters turned into uncontainable screams of delights when the first luxurious car entered the scene.

* * *

 **Great Britain, Brixton.**

Her jade green eyes were glazed with disinterest as she watched her two friends continue squealing over the live recording of _the_ _Pinnacle_ before turning back to the device in her hands. Her unruly brown, almost dark enough to be black fringe fell over her eyes once more as she returned to the pictures in her camera, trying to pretend that her two best friends weren't acting like morons.

She shook her head incredulously. Geez, what was so amazing about those models that they had to scream their heads off and smacking each other like morons every fucking minute one step into the scene?

Now she had so much regrets agreeing to let them stay over at her apartment. She was truly an idiot for not realizing why they chose today out of all the other available weekends to have their sleepover. They had been gushing and fangirling more intensely about their favourite models ever since the media begun the countdown. How could she not notice?

Glancing up, she eyed the live show grudgingly and looked down with an amused snort when her friends let out another scream of delight. She thanked god that her mother and brother had gone out because she was pretty sure they were loud enough to wake the whole neighbourhood.

"You know, Erin, I'm seriously still jealous that you're going to London for university next month."

Surprised to be addressed by her obviously engrossed friends, Erin's face fell. Of course, only because of the commercial break right now. _No wonder_.

"Nahhh, I'd rather stay here. Why the hell would you be anyway?" Erin said, returning her gaze to the little screen of her camera.

A pair of exasperated sighs made her look up again and she quickly realized her mistake with a grimace appearing on her face.

"Oh god, don't start." Erin eyed them with a warning look, knowing they were about to open their mouths to 'enlighten' her with their continuous gushing and ranting, "I _totally_ understand why."

How did they even become friends? She was all about photography, mangas and rock music while all they talk about was who they saw on the latest _Vogue_ magazine cover and who was dating who.

"Hey Audrey, what if Erin bumps into one of them while in London?" They turned to each other, their eyes bright with excitement, and began to shriek.

Fuck, here they go again. Erin rolled her eyes.

"Shhhh," She looked between the two in bewilderment. "Shut up, for goodness' sake, the neighbours are going to think someone is getting murdered here."

The girls looked over with sheepish smiles.

One of them turned to her with an eager grin on her face and glittering green eyes, "If you were to ever meet _the_ Ciel Phantomhive there, you've gotta get me his autograph okay?"

Erin blinked owlishly at her. "Erm who…?"

"That hottie from _Phantom_? Didn't you see him on TV just now?"

Silence.

"You mean the one with purple hair?" Erin frowned as she briefly recalled glancing up to catch one dark-skinned model waving at the camera earlier on.

"No, that's _my_ Prince Soma you saw."

"Yeah, that was Prince Soma!" A vigorous nod. "I'm talking about the one who appeared on this month's _People_ magazine cover!"

Erin stared back at them with a blank look and sighed.

She held her hands up as if to surrender with a bemused smile on her face. "You know what? It's okay, I don't want to know _or_ care."

* * *

Robin blue eyes continued to gaze out at the sky through the little window by his spacious first-class seat. The hushed excited whispers from the stewardess going on somewhere behind him he had noticed earlier blurred into the background, an insignificant noise to his wandering mind. It was something he had grown so accustomed to, that he couldn't be bothered.

He let out a sigh and sank into the soft leather behind him.

Attending _The Pinnacle_ was a pain, so thank god it was over. All that fuss. All those nosy reporters. And the unnecessary bother to mingle with those models.

"The tenant will be moving in tomorrow."

Ciel turned his eyes away from the window and met the eyes of his manager with an irritated frown. "It's something I assigned you to do so just get it done without bothering me about it, Sebastian, just lay out the rules for him."

The pair of brown eyes looking at him from the seat on the other side of the aisle had a meaningful gleam in them. "I'm still surprised you see the need to rent out that room. It's not like you need spare cash."

"Well if I don't get it occupied as soon as possible, "Ciel picked up the champagne glass by his seat and took a sip. "I'm going to end up having some uninvited people from India hanging around again." His voice went deep with annoyance as if he just remembered something unpleasant.

"Besides, I barely use that place anymore. It'll be a waste to let it be empty most of the time."

"Getting on the good side of the models could be a good thing." An amused smile crept across Sebastian's face. "You'd never know how useful connections can be. He may end up working for _Phantom_ one day."

Ciel let out a scoff and plucked out the magazine tucked in the compartment beside him, staring dully at the picture of himself on its cover. "I hope not."

The slick tablet on Sebastian's lap that suddenly lit up with soft _ping_ drew his attention back to the older man. "What is it? Has Undertaker gotten back to me?"

"Nope," Sebastian saw the expectation in his eyes dim away, "It's just your schedule for the new semester from the university."

"Oh right," Ciel turned back to the magazine, completely losing interest. "That troublesome place." A deep sigh.

* * *

The city of London moved as sluggishly as possible for a city of its size and caliber. It was one of those days when the sun was mostly hidden behind the clouds, with occasional breeze that carried a stifling sort of warmth. The incessant honking from the busy roads continued to rip through the air, and the inhabitants of the boulevards was constantly on the move.

It was the morning of a dreary Tuesday and no one had the time to spare a glance at the girl who had suddenly come to a halt outside a Starbuck café at the curt burst of vibration she felt.

Sensing more than seeing the impatience and frustration from the people trying to manoeuvre around her, Erin shuffled quickly to the side with her luggage and dug into her duffle bag for her phone. She leaned back against the cold glass of the café's window and read a new text from her landlord with a sigh.

 _Apologies, something came up. Can we change our meeting time to 5pm instead?_

"Fuck." Erin muttered under her breath as she caught sight of the time on her phone and noted that 5pm was four hours away.

Grudgingly typing in a short reply of 'Okay sure', she glanced over to the tall glass building further down the street, somewhat still in awe that she would staying in such an expensive-looking building. She was lucky that her brother knew someone's friend who was looking for a tenant when she brought up the topic about accommodations with her family.

Suddenly, her phone rang. She returned her eyes to the screen – speak of the devil, it was her brother.

"What?" Erin said as she answered.

"What do you mean, _what_?" Her brother said sourly. "I'm checking on you, little sis. Have you found the place?"

"Yeah, I'm at the Starbucks near it." Erin casted another glance at the building. "But I can't go over until five. Landlord texted me that something came up."

"Then you should head down to your school to register yourself since you have nothing to do now."

"I already did. It was only ten minutes away so I decided I should just get the troublesome things done and over with."

"Wow, only ten minutes away?" Her brother's voice rang out with triumph. "You owe me big time, sis. Isn't it great to have such a wonderful brother?"

"Oh thank you _so much_ , Adrian." Erin rolled her eyes, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

A snort. "Seriously, what happened to that little girl who kept following to me? You were so cute last time!"

Erin groaned.

"Anyway, just call back home when you've settled into that apartment." She could faintly hear her mother's voice in the background as he spoke. "Mum is driving me nuts, man. She won't stop asking about you."

"Okay."

"Remember, you owe me big timeee." Her brother said in a sing-song voice. "You should treat me to a good feast if I go down there. Or maybe buy me a new–"

"Yeah yeah, whatever you want. Bye."

Erin hung up and entered the cafe with her suitcase rolling behind her.

* * *

Arriving at the apartment around five, she knocked on the door of 24B and waited, glancing around the hallway behind her once more.

"You must be Miss Erin Keighley, the new tenant?"

A deep, smooth voice made her turn her attention back to the door and she let a startled gasp before she could stop herself, completely unprepared to be greeted by a face that sent doubts clouding her.

Erin tried not to notice his common yet alluring brown eyes that seemed to hold something more, his perfectly cut jawline and the way his casual suit outlined his obviously fine body profile.

She was not boy-crazy like her friends and she gave no shit about her practically non-existent love life, but someone that looked like he just stepped out of a fashion magazine was kind of hard to ignore.

Bemused, Erin glanced down at the detail her brother had sent her again and to the door once more.

The man seemed to realize what she was doing because the gracious smile turned into an amused one on his handsome face. "No worries, you are at the right place." He slid out a phone from his pocket and angled it to her so that she could see him press the green 'call' button right next to her name.

Immediately, her phone in hand rang and vibrated. 'Landlord', a name she had used to label the contact number her brother had given her before she came, appeared on the screen.

"So you're my landlord?"

The amused look on his face changed into surprise for a while, and back to amusement again – in fact even more so to the point that she thought he looked like he was about to start laughing.

"No, but I'm Sebastian Michaelis and I'm stepping in for him today. Why don't you come in and get yourself settled?" He opened the door wider and stepped aside.

Still, Erin did not budge from her spot, feeling doubtful.

"You being able to call my phone doesn't really prove anything, you know? I don't know, you could be some kind of murderer waiting to ambush your next victim… aka _me_?"

Erin found herself listening to a short round of deep, velvety chuckles as she eyed the man warily.

Sebastian cut off his laughter with a clear of his throat. His brown eyes were dancing with amusement, almost incredulity.

"You have quite a wild imagination, Miss Keighley. I promise you, I'm definitely no murderer. Too dirty and distasteful of an occupation, I must say." Sebastian said, stepping out of the apartment to grab her suitcase, ignoring her protest as he made his way back in.

"Don't just stand there. Come in, I won't bite or _kill_ you." There was a tone that sounded almost like a scoff in his voice as Sebastian mentioned the latter.

Watching his tall, retreating back, Erin suddenly felt like a dumbass.

* * *

The apartment flew _way_ out of her expectation. Her landlord must be really desperate to find a tenant if he was willing to rent out a room of this way-too-luxurious apartment at such an affordable price. Or simply stupid.

The inside of the building had definitely lived up to its exterior – the floor was marbled and the walls looked like they were made of expensive wood. Anyone would have mistaken this as a super high-class hotel if not for the 'Westons Apartments' sign outside the building.

Erin fought to keep her jaw close as her eyes wandered from the huge living room to the second floor.

The apartment was mostly white-themed with some black and wood thrown into its design. It has walls made by windows which extended all the way to the ceiling and the stairs that led up to the second floor looked like it was made from the same wood that made the walls of the hallways outside the door. The kitchen adjoined with the living room was only separated by a marble-topped island bar.

The white doors she could see on the second floor made her wonder which of them led her to her room.

"While I'm really glad you like this apartment, we've got to get a move on and get you settled." Erin tore her eyes away from the apartment and turned her attention to the man who opened the door for her. The amazing sight of the apartment made her forget about him momentarily.

"But before that, I've got some house rules for you."

"Yeah okay, lay them." Erin turned to him expectantly.

"First, you are to submit full payment on the 25th of every month. No delays."

"Mmhm, I'm pretty sure that was on the email you or whoever the landlord is sent me."

"Second, the room at the end of the upper floor is to be left alone. That room belongs to your landlord and even touching its door is strictly prohibited."

Erin shifted her gaze to the second floor for a moment.

"Why? Something illegal behind that door?" She returned her gaze to find Sebastian staring at her somewhat impatiently. "Sorry mister, I'll shut up now."

"You can call me Sebastian, you're making me sound like I'm fifty."

"Right." Erin merely nodded as she studied him briefly, curiosity sparked by his words. "Speaking of age, how old are you?"

"Twenty-six."

"Hmm, then that makes you six years older than me." Erin commented unnecessarily, taking another look at the apartment again.

Sebastian's eyes briefly grew wide in surprise. A small smirk crept across his face as he mused over this information – the tenant is a female and of the same age. Someone was going to throw a fit and frankly, he was looking forward to see him do just that.

"Now, where was I?" Sebastian strolled over to the dark marble coffee table, drawing Erin's attention back to him.

"Err, rule number three?" Erin watched him pick up a black leather folder.

"You're to stay in your room when guests are here."

Erin scowled, opening her mouth and then closing it. It was a strange rule, but still a rule. Besides, she didn't really care. As long as she has a roof over her head and no one disturbs her, by all means she will abide to them.

"Okay, the fourth."

She eyed Sebastian who stopped before her in anticipation.

"That should be all." Sebastian turned the opened folder in his hand and extended it to her. "Sign here and we're done."

Erin glanced down and saw a paper, scanning its content with a curious look. "You're kidding me." She looked up at him with a raised brow, marvelling at his serious face. He didn't look like he was joking. "Is this a freaking contract?"

"Yes."

"For something as trivial as house rules? Can't we just do a pinky promise or something?"

"Contracts are important even for something as simple as house rules. Promises are so breakable and unsubstantial. A physical binding such as this paper is not." Erin stared at him incredulously, somewhat noticing how amusement was such a fitting expression on Sebastian's face. "Now if you understand why, sign it."

"Papers are substantial? Hmm, not really, anyone can just tear or burn this contract."

"Not when it's held by me."

There was something about the way his eyes glinted at her that made her hold her tongue. Like a warning.

Erin let out a sigh, swallowing the words she was about to speak and instead, picked up the pen. "Okay, I'll sign it. Over here?" She pointed to the lines at the bottom of the paper.

"Yes, there."

She brought the pen down to the mark.

"Wait, hold on."

Her hand paused and Erin looked up at Sebastian with a frown. "What?"

"I forgot one more rule, my apologies."

There was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes that Erin was not sure she imagined it up because it was gone in less than a second."You absolutely _must not_ fall in love with your landlord."

Huh?

* * *

 **a/n:** I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I would really like to hear from you all about your impressions so far. Leave a review and let me know!


	2. Whisky Stains

Thank you for picking this story to read! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!

* * *

 **Chapter 02** – **Whisky Stains**

* * *

The rather generous space of the room which once looked like it was part of an IKEA catalogue was unflatteringly decorated by the articles of mostly dark-coloured clothes strewn all over its wooden floor. Hangers from the widely opened wardrobe were tangled with each other on the queen-sized bed by the cushioned grey wall.

From the same wall as the bed,the slim white door to the bathroom swung opened, the powerful sound of rushing water from the toilet bowl following Erin as she returned to the room with her phone to her ear.

"…Mhm yeah, I've already received the schedule and I can only meet you girls next month." Keeping her phone to her ear with her shoulder, Erin gathered the clothes on the floor and dumped them on the bed.

"Yeah I know that sucks, but too bad."

Erin slid the wardrobe door close once she had cleared her bed and suitcase of her clothes. "School? It's starting in a week. And I'm not so sure I'm ready for it yet."

"Uh uh, I think not. Fat chance I'll meet him." An exasperated roll of eyes. "London is a hella big city so let's not our hopes too high, 'kay? Wait, _your_ hopes too high."

"Okay, I've gotta go now. Bye."

Sliding her phone back into her jeans pocket, Erin released a deep sigh and took another look around her room before grabbing her Nixon camera off the desk by the huge window. Quickly patting down the wrinkles on the bed she messed up, she stepped back, angled the camera and–

Snap.

Delighted by how the light filtering through the day curtains gave the picture a pretty glow, a double _beep_ from her camera made her cross the room to its charger on the desk.

Watching the blinking red light turned to a steady green light, her eyes drifted over to the paper beside her camera – a copy of the contract Sebastian made her sign an hour ago and let out an unattractive snort.

* * *

Ciel Phantomhive was in a bad mood. Anyone who walked into his office could see that from the big irritated scowl on his young face and the way his piercing blue eyes blazed intensely with distaste.

Intense enough to burn through the paper if his glare had the ability to.

One last disgusted look at his sketching attempt for _Phantom_ 's next catalogue, he crushed the paper and tossed it aside with a curt sigh. Sitting back in his leather seat behind the desk, his nose scrunched up at the mess on the glass top before him, irked by how everything was out of place. If his mood was bad minutes ago, the ugly sight made it worse.

He reached over to the phone and stabbed a button. "Get someone up here to clean my office now." Annoyance hissed through his teeth.

Getting off his chair with jaws tight, he crossed over to the lift with a hard glint in his eyes as he ran a hand through his hair.

Damn it all, he needed a drink.

* * *

The bar was dimly lit by the gentle glows from the Japanese-inspired lanterns sitting along the four walls made of red, almost brown oak wood. The comforting darkness the design of the bar gave was what he always liked about this particular bar – something that never fails to work wonders to the ache in his head or tightness in his shoulders.

There were a few customers when he strolled in but nobody made a big fuss over his presence, thanks to the strict 'Leave others alone or get kicked out' policy set up by the owner himself – another factor that made this place his favourite.

As Ciel slid into his usual seat at the bar counter, his eyes lingered on the figure wiping a table to his left. He has been a regular here as soon as he was legal to drink out in the open; it did not take him long to notice the little-to-no change in the staff here for past two years.

The person there was something different but did little to capture his interest.

His eyes were back to the front again the moment a man entered from a side door. The unruly short blond hair that looked like it hadn't been combed for days and the contradicting impeccably iron-pressed suit – anyone who frequented at Quartz know this as the signature appearance of Calvin Baldroy.

"Mr. Phantomhive, I was wondering when you're going to show your face at my bar again." The man said with a grin as he stopped behind the counter, his words heavily coated by the distinct American accent from his mouth.

"You know when, Bard." A small wry smile and meaningful look.

"Another block, eh?"

"Do I need to spell it out?"

"Your usual drink may help."Ciel eyed the glass of bubbling golden liquid Bard placed before him. "Go ahead, knock yourself out with this."

A snort. "That's the last thing I need to do to myself."

Chuckles arose from Bard "Alright, I'll leave you alone now. Take as long as you need." Ciel raised his eyes and watched the man retreat into the door he came through with a lazy wave of his hand.

* * *

A part-time job was necessary if she wanted to finish paying up for her textbooks and continue staying in the apartment.

The receipt order for her books she receivedon her third day in that fancy place was the reason why she was even here, ending up working as a bar waitress in Quartz. From the fees to the hostels and to the textbooks, the figures were ridiculously big! It was only thanks to her scholarship that she didn't need to empty her bank to pay for her course fee.

Erin let out another sigh as she handed the dirty dishes to the dishwasher and uttered her thanks, noting that it was her turn to tend to the counter. Grabbing a clean cloth and a carton of freshly washed cups on the way out of the kitchen, she placed down the weight in her arms as gently as possible onto the counter and picked the first cup.

She was about to start drying it when a cold voice pierced through the jazzy saxophone music from the PA system.

Erin looked up to find a very apologetic Charles and a man in his early twenties looking pissed like hell.

* * *

His usual martini had managed to put him in a slightly better mood, decent enough to make himself return to the confines of his office to finish his work. But it was so quickly ruined. He was on his way out when a waiter who couldn't seem to watch where he was going, bumped into him and– oh god, the wet, slimy red sauce. So disgusting.

"My-my apologies, Mr. Phan-Phantomhive!"

Shaky hand pushing up his spectacles, the waiter put down the pasta he managed to save on a table behind and reached over, completely unaware of how Ciel had instinctively stiffened when the waiter touched the cloth in his hand to the stain on his chest.

This stuttering fool thought that it was okay to touch him? With that dirty rag?

Just like that, he felt the rein over his temper slip out of his grasp.

"Don't touch me with your unworthy hands." His hand flew and slapped away the waiter's hand. "You think you can make it all better with that rag?"

"N-no sir, I-"

"Do you have any idea how much this suit cost?" Ciel's fury was almost like a calm, lethal kind of anger that was much worse than voice was low but every word was piercing."A thousand more than your salary. And definitely more than your life. Even killing yourself won't be enough to pay me back for this–"

"Oh really? For that boring ass suit?"

Ciel diverted his glare when he realized that it did not come from the trembling waiter before him and saw it was the new person he noticed earlier. The nonchalance on her face was like fuel to his mood.

"Yes," he eyed her with an intense glint in his eyes, "And for this _boring ass_ suit that your idiotic colleague just ruined, I demand compensation."

Erin met his icy glare with tempered indifference, inside she was stewing. She didn't like how he had insulted her friend. That arrogance in his words, the condescending way he looked at them.

"Sorry, just a poor kid here. But I can help you clean that up."

"With what? Another damn rag?" Eyes flickering down, Ciel's lips curled in disgust at the cloth in her hand.

"No, with this."

Raising his gaze, Ciel found his shirt wet and dripping with a cold, coppery liquid in the next second. Gasps echoed around him as he stared at the new stain on his shirt with a stunned look.

"It's a pity to let such a fine whisky go to waste but see, at least that tomato paste is gone."

Jaws clenched, Ciel looked up to see her smiling serenely with an empty glass in her hand.

Erin managed to not flinch at the look in his eyes – it had a deadness, a stillness. The gaze that met her was startling, like the stab of a knife. Behind her, Charles was still gawking at the wet patch on his shirt, looking like he was about to faint.

"Do you even know who the hell you're messing with, you crazy woman?"

"Yeah I know," Erin tried to smile again, but she seemed to have failed miserably because the curl of her lips made it looked more like a snarl. "An asshole."

* * *

 _Tap. Tap. Tap._

The frustration and annoyance of the young President could be heard from the rapid tapping of his loafers as he stormed across the lobby of Phantom.

All eyes were on him and the not-so-subtle mess on his Giorgio Armani suit but no one was suicidal enough to ask about the curious pattern on his suit or stand in his path as he stalked toward the lifts.

If the cold, deadly rage in his eyes was not enough to serve as a warning, the dark, murderous aura that seemed to radiate off him was the dead giveaway - overwhelming enough for even oblivious idiots to know that they should stay away.

Commanding the lift doors to close with an angry stab of its button, Ciel glared at the closing doors, a foot tapping impatiently against the marble floor.

The huge coppery stain of a whisky and the cold, wet sensation on his front that was making his skin crawl with goosebumps were constant reminders of what just happened at Quartz.

How dare she.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. No, not just anger. Incredulous. Insulted.

He was Ciel Phantomhive, the youngest to hold the status of 'President' in the line of the Phantomhives and of course, the entire nation. And in years' time once he was done with Prestin University, he will take over Francis Midford and sit in his rightful throne as the CEO. He was a face that appeared as many times as Great Britain's supermodel, Alois Trancy, on newspaper articles and magazineslike Forbes, Time and most recently, on People.

He was intimidating to most who worked with or for him, both men and women alike, and a heartthrob among his and the younger generations. He was called many things 'Genius', 'Prodigy', the next Vincent Phantomhive. (which he did not really appreciate)

But definitely not something like 'Asshole'. Well, at least not in his face.

That woman chose a terrible day to mess with him.

He had to admit that he had let his temper get the better of him and saidwords to her colleague that were quite unnecessary. But still instead of apologizing to him, she had the nerve to dirty his suit and walk away calling him an asshole!

Bard was away for some business to know about her stunt, but not for long. Quartz did not need an uncouth woman like her.

A 'ding' echoed around him as soon as the lift reached the 21st floor, breaking him out of his angry thoughts for a while to realize that he had reached his office.

Then he was back to seething, as he briskly walked out of the lift. Striding toward the built-in closet across the room, his suit was already tossed somewhere behind him and fingers already unbuttoning his shirt by the time he made it halfway there.

Looking irritated with disgust, Ciel peeled off the shirt and let it drop to his feet as he reached for a new, clean set in the closet.

A familiar 'ding' from the lift made him glance over his shoulder to find the CEO's secretary stepping into his office just as he was putting his arms through the sleeves of a white dress shirt. His eyes instantly caught her obvious nervousness from the way she clutched the stack of files a bit too tightly against her chest.

The whole building must have known about his terrible mood, Ciel realized with a sigh, feeling his anger subside a little at the uneasiness in her posture. Somehow reminding him of a frightened rabbit.

"What?"

Startled, the woman lost grip of the files in her arms and began to stutter apologies as she tried to pick them off the floor.

Ciel winced inwardly when he realized he sounded harsher than he had intended to and quickly made his way over to help her. Guilt pricked at the sight of her trembling hands when he got down opposite her. He swore at his bad temper.

First, it was that waiter at Quartz. Now, his subordinate.

"I'm-I'm so clumsy, for-forgive me Mr Phantomhive."

"It's okay, don't worry about it. I'm not angry at you." Ciel murmured, picking up a file nearest to him. "So, you need me to get these approved and signed right?"

His eyes flickered up to her, only to find her staring at him. Or more accurately... He followed her gaze.

His chest.

Letting a silent sigh, he brought a hand to his wide opened shirt and started buttoning it up.

This action seemed to have alerted the woman to her mistake because she suddenly jerked like she was caught in some sort of trance and began stuttering again, with cheeks blushing bright red.

"Erm, the C-CEO wants you to s-submit these to her once y-you're done." She quickly climbed to her feet just as he was doing so and offered the files to him.

Nodding, Ciel took the files and dismissed her with an utter of 'thanks'. He watched her give him a small bow before retreating into the lift, not failing to notice the difference in her behaviour with a grimace – now she looked like a schoolgirl who could barely contain her excitement to gush.

Shaking his head in exasperation, he walked over to the stubby table in the midst of three leather couches with the files in his arms and dropped them onto it. His long legs was quickto cover the distance between him and the closet and soon he had his blazer on.

Peering down at the busy city through the ceiling-to-floor window that made the wall behind his desk, Ciel found himself groaning at another 'ding' that sounded from the lift. Alerting himto another visitor.

Maybe he should get someone to mute the lift because it was starting to resemble an annoying doorbell.

"My, my. What a mess." Ciel turned around to find Sebastian picking up the dirty clothing he threw on the floor. "Aren't you a little too old to be spilling drinks onto your shirt?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow at the huge stain at the dress shirt in his hand.

"It wasn't me," Ciel hissed, his eyes darkening at the reminder of the incident from earlier. "Some waitress at Quartz thought it was a good idea to dump whisky on me."

Sebastian looked up from the shirt in surprise. "Well, that's a first."

A scoff. "Bard's going to hear this the next time I see him." Ciel sat in his chair with a scowl. "Enough about that ridiculous woman, what brings you here?"

"An invitation to a party at Prada's headquarters this coming Saturday." Sebastian decided not to pursue the topic and opened the planner in his hand. "And I heard it's going to be a big one.

"Even the Undertaker will be there."

"Good, I can finally catch him. Those stupid paparazzi just had to ruin my chance at the Pinnacle, "Ciel growled, his eyebrows furrowed with irritation. "I swear that guy is playing hide-and-seek with me."

"And you're good at games like this," Sebastian chuckled, "You've been onto him since you returned."

"Of course, one has to be persistent for someone like him, "Ciel leaned his head back and glared at the ceiling that towered five feet above him. "He has the answer I'm looking for. I will take my revenge even if it means waiting till my hair turns white or putting my life on the line."

"How reckless," a smirk curled Sebastian's lips. "Are you sure revenge is what your parents would want you waste your life on?"

"My parents are dead," Ciel looked up sharply, the glint in his eyes hard and cold. "They have no business in what I do with my life. Shut up and do your job, Sebastian, I hired you for a reason. I will find out who those bastards are and make them pay for what they did to me."

"Very well," The smirk on Sebastian's face grew wider. "Are you planning to spend the night here again? Do you need me to bring you dinner later?"

"No need, I'll be returning to the apartment tonight."

"Oh?"

Ciel rose from his chair and turned to the view behind him. "Let's just hope what you said about the tenant is true because the last thing I need there is a crazy fan."

* * *

 **a/n:** I've decided to write Ciel in this story a little differently from the one in _Tainted_. While I'm going to keep the fundamental cores of Ciel Phantomhive, I'm gonna try writing him with a new interpretation of him in mind. I would like to hear from you guys about what kind of characteristic you perceive him to possess in this story – What kind of person is Ciel Phantomhive here?

The main question is - did I manage to capture and portray the characteristics I intended for _this_ modern Ciel to have?

Enlighten me please, tell me what you think. Reviews will be greatly appreciated.


	3. An Inconvenient Coincidence

Thank you for the favorite/follow and reviews! I really love it when reviews come popping up on my email. They are always so exciting and inspiring to read! So again, I thank you for your support! Also, as you can see, I have changed the story title because this new one is more relevant to the story plot.

* * *

 **Chapter 03** – **An Inconvenient Coincidence**

* * *

Rolling her head back against the wall of the lift, a long drawn sigh puffed out of her mouth.

Erin grimaced at the heavy weariness all over her body after such an _eventful_ day. The memory of the incident from noon was like a lingering nuisance, coming back to remind her repeatedly of her recklessness. She did not know what came over her when she poured whisky on that man's shirt – it was more than anger, certainly.

She was guilty of what she had done and being on the receiving end of the icy glare he threw at her sort of intimidated her, but she couldn't quite shake off the small satisfaction seeing his oh-so-precious suit dripping wet.

Erin dragged a hand down her face with a sigh as she watched the number on the lift panel flicker higher and higher with an absent glint in her eyes. The weary ache in her body and her drooping eyelids showed her great need for sleep. Walking listlessly into the hallway as soon as the lift reached the 24th floor, she brought the watch on her right wrist closer to her face and groaned at the time – it was already eight and tomorrow was already her first day of school!

Quickly unlocking the door of 24B, she kicked off her shoes to the shoe cabinet at the side and paused ever so briefly to look back at her shoes she left scattered on the floor as Sebastian's reminder to keep the apartment tidy rang in her head. Brushing the sight away, she continued her way toward the second floor with a yawn.

Screw the rules. What was the point anyway? She would be wearing them tomorrow too! And all she cared about now was a quick bath and sleep.

Stifling a yawn, Erin reached for the door knob as soon as she arrived at her door, her fingers already itching to pop open the buttons of her shirt.

 _Thud_.

Her hand froze inches above the knob. Her eyes which had immediately widened to the sound turned to a certain door at the end of the hallway she stood in. Feeling her breath catch in her throat, her body tensed in realisation – the usual closed door was left ajar.

A burglar?

Horror sept into her.

Her mind begin to race as she quietly made her way over to the room and softened her breathing as she peeked through the gap. The room was dark but she could easily tell that this room was much bigger than hers. Her eyes swept the room as much as the gap allowed her to.

She blinked in confusion when she saw no one. Maybe something dropped?

"Okay Erin, you're just gonna check and leave." Erin murmured under her breath. Pushing the door a little wider, she gingerly eased herself into the quiet room

"… _the room at the end of the upper floor is to be left alone._ "

Erin paused in her tracks for a second and continued her way in. "Alright, this is only a one-time thing. It could be a burglar. Sebastian entrusted you to this place so this is necessary." Giving herself a decisive nod, she blindly felt the walls near her.

Where the hell were the light switches? She continued groping around.

Erin finally gave up when she found none and carefully manoeuvred around the furniture lying around her, trying to make out the silhouettes the light from the hallway could barely reach.

Her heart was beating faster the deeper she went. She was wide awake now, every little silhouettes she walked past made her turn sharply to look at them. Her hands were clenched tightly into fists at her sides as she kept an eye out for any hiding intruders.

At times like this, she wished she took martial arts instead of photography! Maybe she should have called Sebastian first? It wasn't too late, wasn't it?

She dug a hand into her pocket for her phone.

"What on earth are you doing in my-"

Eyes springing wide open at the sudden voice behind her, an icy hand closed around her heart. With a terrified shriek tearing out of her mouth, Erin found herself whipping around with a fist flying out.

* * *

Ciel still could not fathom _how_ or _why_ he ended up with a _bloody_ nose right upon waking up from his nap.

Being a light sleeper, he was woken up by soft footsteps and the sudden increase in the brightness of his room. When he saw the figure creeping around his room, he was fast to dismiss burglars due to the burglar-proof feature the building possessed and quickly figured that it was the tenant Sebastian told him about.

All he wanted to do was get the person to leave his room so he could continue his nap, and _not_ a punch to his face.

Still nursing his nose, Ciel raised his gaze to his assailant sitting on the couch across him.

She looked familiar – he studied her with a scowl on his face. She looked like she was in her late teens, of a slim build, and someone who was in a desperate need of cutting for the obvious spilt ends of her long dark hair. Around her green eyes, her skin was littered with little pimples here and there. Though she wasn't ugly, her appearance screamed for a fix.

She looked familiar, alright. _Way too_ familiar.

Of course, he would recognize her anywhere. His memory must be failing him if he couldn't remember the uncouth woman who had poured whisky on him this very afternoon. It was amazing how they somewhat ended up sitting right here in _his_ living room now, staring at each other in silence.

Was Sebastian playing a joke on him? What in the world was this woman doing in his apartment? And who gave her the rights to glare at him like that?

He didn't know which one to feel, for there were so much inside – irritation, anger, confusion and tad amusement.

Removing the tissue stuck in his nose, Ciel laid his head on a hand and returned her glare with an incredulous look. "Why are you glaring at me?"

Snapping out of her guilty thoughts at that question, Erin tore her gaze away from the spot beside his head and met his eyes.

"Hmm not much," Ciel watched her glare fall away to a straight face. "I was just hoping you'll spontaneously combust, that's all." Erin shrugged a shoulder.

He raised an eyebrow sharply.

"I was _joking_." Erin quickly added with a pointed look, upon seeing his expression. "You misunderstood. I was just thinking about something, not glaring at you."

She was honestly still struck by the sight of him – she was thinking about him minutes ago and here he was, right in front of her. Was this her punishment for dirtying his suit just now?

"Don't you think apologizing would be a more appropriate thing to do?" Ciel eyed her, looking very unimpressed. "How laughable, my tenant meets me for the first time, and dumping whisky on me and attacking me are what I get as a greeting?"

He watched Erin shift her eyes uneasily, sheepishness evident on her face. "Plus, you can't possibly expect me to let you stay if you have already broken one of my rules right?"

Silence.

"I'm sorry. I really am… Pouring that on you was uncalled for." Erin raised her gaze sharply. "As for the rules, I had to enter your room because I thought there was a burglar so punching you was just an accident… which I'm also sorry for."

The apathetic way he continued to look at her spurn panic in her. "Please, you can't kick me out."

Despite the extremely casual grey knitted long-sleeved shirt and black sweatpants which was a _huge_ contrast from that suit he had on earlier, he looked as untouchable and intimidating as ever – the way his cold, blue eyes were glazed with disinterested, the indifference in the way he sat with a hand under his chin and legs crossed.

It was not hard to notice how the clothes he wore had little to no effect on him.

"The hostel is so expensive–"

"Not my problem."

Stifling a yawn, a short buzz came from his phone as Ciel begin to rise from his chair. _The Indians are visiting tomorrow evening._ He felt a spark of annoyance. _Madam Francis wants you to show them your utmost hospitality_.

"C'mon, my school starts tomorrow and I have no other places to go. I'll cook, I'll clean… I'll do anything you want, okay?"

Damn those people, why are they so obsessed with him? Especially that purple-haired idiot… why can't he bug someone else?

Ciel gritted his teeth in irritation, feeling his patience quickly waning. He didn't have much of a choice – Sebastian had more important tasks assigned to him and not stupid things like this.

He turned to the girl who was still droning on, oblivious to the big scowl on his face.

"Okay, not _anything_ but as long as it doesn't involve selling my body or breaking into banks or killing people, I don't mi–"

"Can you drive?"

Taken back by the sudden question, Erin blinked back in confusion. "Err, yeah?"

"If you want to stay that badly, you'll have to clean and cook like you mentioned, and of course, pay your rents."

Ciel massaged his temples wearily. "Also, you'll be at my beck and call. I don't care what the hell you're doing at the moment, you'll do whatever I order you to do and you're to come over to me whenever I call."

"You mean like a _dog_?" The words flew out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

Looking surprised at her a moment, amusement flickered across his face. "Yes, how…fitting."

At that, Erin watched him broke into a smirk. It was a smirk unsettling enough to give her a shudder of dread, suddenly looking very much like a devil to her.

* * *

 **a/n:** I ended with that because I thought it would be better to start off the next segment in a new chapter. Please let me know what you think! Reviews are greatly appreciated. You know how much I love reading them, so pleaseeee. I don't care whether it's a review telling me that I need work more on stuff here and there or a praise, I love reading them all.


	4. Smirk Upon Me

**a/n:** To dear reviewer Ryo, thank you for your wonderful input for the previous chapters. I really appreciate your thoughts regarding the story.

And this is my reply to your question…Yes I read the Manga and quite actively. I'm a fan of Kuroshitsuji afterall so I _watch_ and _read_. So yes, I'm very aware of the fake and real Ciel thing that has been going on now, and I may, _may_ , incorporate that into this story. I'll just need to think of how. It's been a delight reading your reviews, you've no idea how much you've made my day with those reviews.

I do hope that I'll hear from you as much as possible! Maybe you can consider creating an account here so that I can respond to you more promptly? :D

Anyway, this new chapter was written quickly thanks to the burst of inspiration that came from reading all of your reviews! I hope you all like this one as well, enjoy.

* * *

 **Chapter 04** – **Smirk Upon Me**

* * *

Her lips hung apart as Erin blinked. And blinked. And blinked.

Amazement should be a strange thing to feel after someone deemed you his 'dog'. Anger would have been the right emotion to harbour instead. But no, she was amazed. A little incredulous but still, _very_ amazed.

Flipping him off and walking right out of the door immediately would be more sensible thing to do, but she had to do the stupid thing called gawking. Too stunned with amazement and wonder by the man standing before her to make her escape.

In what twisted world was it fair that someone _this_ preposterous could be so appealing to the eyes?

Also, in what twisted world were people who looked barely past twenty think they had the right to make someone else's their _dog_ and think they could get their way?

Apparently and unfortunately, it was the very same world she existed in. And only Ciel _fucking_ Phantomhive could do it because she could see it all on his face.

Yes, that very face before her.

The one that bore a smirk which was treacherously amused – enough to make him look like he could pass for one of the devil's apprentices. But indefinitely more beautiful. His piercing blue eyes that seemed to going straight through her gleamed an unwavering glint of confidence.

He knew he had won.

"Dog…a freaking dog." Erin raised her head with a forming scowl on her face. "You obviously need a dictionary. How the hell do those tasks define me as a dog? I think you meant your _servant_." She quirked an eyebrow at him.

She saw the smirk slide off his face like he was taking a brief pause to consider her words. Just as quickly as his smirk disappear, his lips curled again in a way that looked like a silent scoff.

"No, humans are annoying. Besides," his gaze swept over her, one side of his lip shot up in a taunting smirk, "it's been a while since I owned a dog. If I say you're my dog, then you are. Anyway, what's your name again?"

"…Erin. Erin Keighley." Erin answered grudgingly with an incredulous look on her face.

If he was in a bad mood because of something he read on his phone minutes ago, it was obvious she was the one who had lightened it. Except it meant being his object of ridicule.

"Hm. There's no harm in checking whether my new dog can understand and obey my commands properly right?"

Eying him warily, she watched him settle himself onto the arm of the chair he sat on seconds ago, crossing his long legs elegantly as he turned his head to her with a look almost like mischief in his eyes. His lips once again curled into a smirk. It reeked mockery.

"Alright Keighley, this is an order."

Startled, Erin's eyebrows rose sharply. "Huh?"

"Bark."

* * *

" _How is it possible that you know I'm Ciel Phantomhive and not know the meaning of that name?_

 _Do you live under a rock? Be a good dog and educate yourself. This will be your homework and I want it done by tomorrow."_

And _that_ was how she ended up spending the previous night googling about that pompous ass instead using her precious time to prepare for her first day of school.

It was not that she doesn't know who or what being that guy meant. Hearing his name _did_ ring a bell. Well, naturally when her friends had mentioned it for god knows how long and how many times. But of course, she wasn't really paying attention most of the time.

'Educating' herself with useless information like that was a waste of brain capacity, but she was sure it was something Audrey and Olivia would gladly give her a crash course on with an extremely detailed PowerPoint presentation.

Of course since they were not around to do that, she had do it herself, plaguing her mind with information of him and _goodness_ , seeing his pictures everywhere was traumatizing.

Just when she thought she had enough of Ciel _fucking_ Phantomhive, an interesting article about him brought her a whole new wave of dread.

He, apparently, still goes to school and _her_ school to be exact. Was that why Audrey kept insisting that she get her his autograph? She knew?

And that was why she was here now, behind the steering wheel of a slick silver Lamborghini Huragan, waiting for Mr. Asshole to get his butt down.

 _7:58_

Erin read from the dashboard with a heavy sigh of impatience as her fingers continued to drum against the wheel and returned her attention to the car, admiring the luxurious interior around her.

The only good thing about waking at the unearthly hour (to her) of 6am to prepare breakfast and warm up the car was…well, the car.

Even if it meant becoming a chauffeur, the powerful engine humming under her and the comfy leather seat was something she really could appreciate. It was a beast from her dreams and its toy figurine was probably the closest thing she could afford.

 _8:03_

She stole another glance at the dashboard and scowled. Jesus, the opening ceremony was going to start at 8:30am and she was still nowhere near Wellington University! What the hell was he still doing upstairs?

Just then, the passenger door opened and with an annoyed look, she turned her head to see the said man sliding into the seat.

"So did you manage to perfect your makeup? I hope you did 'cause we're _freaking late_." Erin said snidely as she returned her gaze to the front and started the engine, easing the car out of the driveway.

"Be grateful you even have a ride there." His voice that she hated to admit was smooth, deep and deliciously raspy to her ears emitted coolly from the backseat.

"Oh, I'll gladly take the subway anytime." She snorted as she squeezed them into the busy main road. "But what can I do? Someone needed a car to get to school that's just _ten_ minutes away and apparently can't be _bothered_ to drive his own ass there."

He let out a sound resembling a scoff. "Are you sure this the way you should talk to your master?"

"Just a dog here, remember? So feel free to take it like I'm barking." Erin tucked the car between two buses and stopped at a red light. " _Woof-woof_." She added mockingly with a roll of her eyes as she leaned back against her seat.

A snort.

"Yeah, one that is clearly untrained. Your cooking isn't horrendous but most of it ended up in the trash." Erin raised her gaze to the rearview mirror with the quirk of an eyebrow and found his eyes already in the reflection to meet hers. With a glint like a smirk. "I'll get Sebastian to train you."

"Wow, I'm such a pitiful doggo to have a nutcase and an ungrateful bastard for a master. Fuck my life, yayyy."

"Watch your mouth, Keighley."

"Want me to bark it out?" offered Erin, moving the car again. "I could use some practice for the cuss words I picked up from Doggy Language 101 yesterday you know?"

"No need, just–"

"Do you know when we say the word 'bitch' twice in doggy, it really means 'bitch', not the female dog."

"I don't care. Shut up and drive, you idiot–"

"And interestingly, two loud barks means 'fuck you'?

"Shut. Up."

"Tsk tsk, _even_ master's language is as uncouth as mine."

"I said shut up already!"

" _Woof._ "

* * *

It took her an hour or less to know why everything from this school was so goddamn expensive.

The general office was the furthest she had been on the day she came to settle her administration stuff so she didn't think much of it but simply walking down to the extravagant hallways to her first lecture made her want to punch and hug the person who was responsible for the rich design and exaggerating facilities of the school.

When she drove into the gargantuan carpark this morning, she could instantly tell that this was a school for the rich.

There were people her age stepping out of Porsches, Lamborghinis, BMWs, Mercedes and any other cars she probably could never afford in her life or her _next_ life. She couldn't help being wary of the sky above it, almost afraid that she would find people sky-diving from helicopters or jet planes above.

Erin walked through the bustling hallway with books for her first lecture in her arms and found her eyes drawn from brand logos to brand logos as she manoeuvred around people. She wasn't poor but damn, walking with these people made her feel like she was in rags.

The guys were more than ordinary in all their expensive oxfords and their conversations about their families' company and stocks, besides their horny talks about the hottest female porn stars and who they slept with.

The girls clad in brands from head to toes were talking about their manicured nails, their hair and gushing very loudly about their favorite boy of the school which was _not_ surprisingly, that insufferable jackass she drove in the morning.

Seeing this around her, she could only conclude three things.

This school was ridiculous. The _people_ were ridiculous. And last but _not the least_ ridiculous was once again…Ciel _fucking_ Phantomhive who only brought one item to school – his wallet.

Sighing deeply, Erin slammed her locker shut and left for her second lecture.

* * *

While sitting in for her third lecture of the day, she was glad to know that not everyone in Wellington were crazy rich. The third lecture was project-based so getting into a group of four was the first thing they had to do before their lecturer came in.

Thankfully, her teammates were just like her and she liked them already.

Erin glanced across the table at Meyrin and Finny who were laughing at something on Meyrin's phone then over to the guy next to her.

His blond, nearly white hair framing his face were sticking out stylishly from underneath his maroon beanie and behind the obviously fake black glasses, were the brightest blue eyes she'd ever seen. He had a hooded forest green parka over a red flannel shirt and a nicely fitted ripped black jeans tucked in a pair of dark boots marked by a Dr. Martens tag

Alex Traylor was nice and pretty funny but there was something about him that struck her odd. She couldn't tell whether she was reading too much into it or was there a wall between them when he talked to them? Like there was something more to him than this. She just couldn't shake off the phoniness no matter how she looked at him.

"Hey guys," Erin saw Alex look up from his phone just before she turned to Finny who called for their attention. "I heard that BBC is going to film about our school and guess who's gonna be featured in the tour?"

"Ciel Phantomhive…?" Alex offered with a drawl as he leaned back in his seat, his eyes completely glazed with disinterest. She swore she heard something that was almost a sneer when he said his name.

"Yup!" Finny said cheerfully.

"Am I surprised anymore?" Erin's face fell. "No."

Meyrin looked offended, glancing between the blank, unenthusiastic face on their faces. "What's so bad about him? I like him. He may look scary but he's very kind."

"Yeah yeah, I like Mr. Phantomhive!"

"What…?" Erin stared at them, not believing she was hearing. "Kind?" She added with a snort, glancing over to Alex when she heard him do so too.

"It's true!" Meyrin nodded. "Finny and I used to work at a bar called Quartz," Erin snapped her gaze back to her in surprise. "And since our boss was close to him, he told him everything about our desire to attend this school and guess what he did?"

"He sponsored us for nearly everything!" Finny jumped in excitedly, "From our stationery to the hostel! He even sponsored Meyrin a new pair of glasses!"

Erin didn't know she should be surprised by the fact Ciel did all that or the fact that these two used to work at Quartz.

"It was thanks to him that we're here. He's so kind…" Meyrin smiled in admiration.

Then as if Ciel knew they were talking about him, Erin's phone _ping_ ed with a new text from him. _This is an order, Keighley. Come over to my class with a pen now. You'll figure out where to find it._

Attached to the text was a picture of a schedule. Just as she was about to open it, another text came in. _I want you here by 1:05. Don't be late._

Scowling, Erin checked the time and swore. It was 1:01 and it was barely even _five_ minutes!

"Sorry guys, I've got somewhere to go." She rose from her seat, grabbing a pen.

"But the lecturer would be coming anytime now-"

"I promise I'll make it fast. See ya!"

Erin already at the door yelled over her shoulders and opened the door with a resigned sigh.

Oh well, she needed to get a notebook anyway. _He_ can wait.

* * *

Trying to determine the location of his class taught her that he was from the advanced module classes in his cohort and this year was his last one in Wellington. And also, that it was going to be awkward and _very_ uncomfortable to be walking right into one of those elite classes.

Climbing her way up the stairs, Erin raised her eyes to find him watching her apathetically, with a hand tucked under his head. She tried not to pay attention to the judging stares she could feel pricking her skin and the not-too-soft whispers.

She swallowed thickly.

In this lecture hall, the girls and guys alike looked gorgeously arrogant. The way their intelligent eyes look at her made her feel like a filthy rat from the sewer.

"You're late." said Ciel the moment she reached his table, taking the pen out of her hand. "You can go now."

"For a pen…" Erin shook her head, about to move off.

"Wait."

"What?"

The next second she found herself watching him pluck her new notebook out of her hand. "I just bought that-"

He raised an eyebrow and wordlessly proceed to tear a page from her book.

"Here."

Erin stared at the single piece he slid over to her in bewilderment. "But I seriously need that for class."

He eyed the incredulous look on her face indifferently.

"Fine, one more then." Ciel slid another piece over. "Be gone, class is about to start." He waved dismissively.

"What-"

" _Alright, waste no more time and put those irrelevant stuff away._ "

Erin gasped, turning to find a lecturer walking into the hall and felt an instant twinge of discomfort when she found herself glared at by the girls just two tables below.

Turning back to Ciel see him giving her a told-you-so raised eyebrow, she threw back a dirty look and jogged her way down to the door.

* * *

The drive back to the apartment was quiet and honestly, she didn't want to talk to him. Today was a day long enough for her and dealing with him was the last thing she wanted to do now. Not even the desire to get him to return her things was a good enough reason.

All she wanted to do was shut herself in her room and hope to never see his face ever again. But of course, that would be her asking for something too good to be true.

Erin peered into the rearview mirror to find him engross with something on his phone and focused on the road again. Happy to be left alone.

* * *

A bath and tea were definitely the best way to soothe the weariness in her body.

In an oversized t-shirt and comfy pants, Erin sipped on a mug of warm green tea appreciatively in front of her laptop, reading the online receipt for the exhibition of a world famous photographer she bought a ticket for this coming Friday night.

Grell Sutcliffe – a photographer who was the reason why Prada, Gucci, Burberry and all other fashion industries had such amazing posters.

His work did not only stop there.

He was also behind most of the beautiful wallpapers that she frequently used for her desktop. She only learnt about him months ago and had completely fallen in love with his skills. As an aspiring photographer herself, 'phenomenal' was what she would describe his art.

When she realized his showcase was coming to London, she knew she had to buy a ticket right away.

Watching the printer push out the receipt she command it to generate, Erin happily took the warm paper from the machine and stuck it to the board behind her laptop with a tack. Stepping back to admire it, she snapped her attention to her phone when it vibrated with a _ping_.

And scowled.

Only one person would've send a text this late in the night. It was already past midnight

 _Get dressed._ Her eyebrows shot up. _And get that rats' nest you call 'hair' to look more decent, will you? Meet me in the living room in five. No more or less._

She stared. And stared. _And_ stared.

"Is this freaking a joke!?"

* * *

Ciel was sitting on the armchair near the window when she was down the stairs. The casual navy blue long-sleeved shirt and grey sweatpants he had on made the scowl on her face grow even bigger.

Erin took a deep breath as she stopped across him, ready to begin the tirade she had planned while getting dressed. "Do you have any idea what _fucking_ time it is now?"

She could see his blue eyes flicker to the large clock hanging on the wall. "Yeah, and you're late again." He replied calmly.

"By a freaking minute. _Big deal_."

"Actually," Ciel eyed her completely unfazed by her outburst as he slowly crossed an arm over the other. "It was more like two minutes."

"Oh, sorry I wasn't specific enough." Erin rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Anyway that's beside the point, why the hell do I need to _dress up_ at a time like this?"

 _Ding-dong._

A smirk crept across his face. "That's your answer." With that, he gracefully uncrossed his legs and stood up, walking toward and past her.

"Huh?" Erin watched him stop at the foot of the stairs with a bewildered look, completely confused and annoyed.

"Outside that door are two guests from India so treat them with the best hospitality you can on the behalf of me," Ciel began to climb the stairs. "Keep them company, afterall, they were the main reason why you could stay. They don't need to know I'm here. I'll be in my room, I don't wish to be disturb."

He paused mid-stairs to glance over his shoulders. Amusement danced in his eyes. "Don't forget to wag your tail."

"A nutcase." Erin glared at him as he continued his way up the stairs and watched him disappear behind his room's door. "A serious nutcase!" She hissed in frustration.

" _Ciel, you there?"_

An enthusiastic voice that sounded from behind the main door made her divert her look of wrath to it. With an angry sigh, Erin stormed over to it and pulled open the door, seething.

"You're looking for Ciel right?" She asked hotly, ignoring the way the two men had jumped back in surprise at the glare that greeted them.

They nodded meekly.

"Well, he's up in his room. Help yourself after you've locked this door." Erin said briskly and turned away to return her room, leaving the two men staring fearfully after her.

With a huff of annoyance, she stalked up the stairs. "And _I'm_ going to bed."

* * *

 **a/n:** Damn, writing this chapter was fun. This one was a lot more about how Erin perceived Ciel and the environment around her. I'll put in Ciel's into the next chapter so you'll be able to understand him better. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I would really appreciate it if you left me a review. Thank you!


	5. Photographer in Red

The sudden surge of reviews really took me by surprise and made me really, _really_ happy! Thank you so much for taking the effort and time to write back to me. Those reviews made the effort and time I put into the story feel worth it. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well.

* * *

 **Chapter 05** – **Photographer in Red**

* * *

Erin closed the door behind and plopped back against it with a big puff of annoyed sigh, feeling her anger slowly dissipating. Her comfy bed was _right_ in front of her and all she needed to do was switch off the light and throw herself under its duvet, but she just couldn't bring herself to do that no matter how tempting that thought was.

Behind her, she could hear those two conversing in their language and seemingly closer to the second floor than before.

Now that she was no longer as angry, worry and dread begin to nag her as his words came back ringing in her head.

" _Keep them company, afterall, they were the main reason why you could stay."_

Was it worth getting kicked out over ditching this task?

Hell no.

Letting out a groan, Erin turned to face the door with a decisive glare on her forehead. "Alright Erin, just make them leave and get over with it. You know how." She grabbed a pen from her desk and returned to the door.

She pulled open her door in time to see them standing right outside Ciel's room, the purple haired man about to knock and open his mouth to speak.

"Guests!" Erin blurted out in panic. The last thing she needed was him finding out about her initial intention.

They both jumped and spun to her, sharing the same surprised look on their face.

"Erm sorry about that," Erin cringed at her outburst and walked over to them. A very vague sense of recognition came over her when she laid her eyes on the purple haired guy. She swore she saw him somewhere before. "Anyway gentlemen, my name is Erin Keighley–"

"I'm Prince Soma," The purple head cut in, smiling obliviously to her darkening mood. "And this is my manager, Agni." His English was good but quite heavily accented from his origin.

"So you're a real prince…?" She raised an eyebrow at the purple head.

"No Miss Erin," Her eyes swivelled to the 'Agni' guy to see him beaming over at his companion. "But he's like a prince in India. People love him–"

"Okay great, then can I just call you 'Soma' since this technically isn't India?" She turned back to the 'prince'.

"Of course you have to! I'm a prince no matter where I go!"

Erin merely stared back at him. Wow, apparently there were also people like him in this world.

"Yeah okay," Erin held back a scowl and forced a smile. "I would like to welcome you to London with a game. So let's play it at–"

"Oh, a game!" The taller of the two, 'Agni' turned to his partner with an enthusiastic look on his face. "My prince, that's a wonder-"

"Yes, _indeed_ a game." Erin tried to say with a smile, but her voice came out nearly in a hiss. It was already two and she had no time or energy to be dawdling around in the hallway!

"As I was saying…Let's go to the living room, shall we?"

They began to walk toward the stairs, with her guiding them with her hands lightly placed on their backs.

"Wait Miss Erin," The purple head suddenly paused and glanced over his shoulder cheerfully. "Let's get Ciel to join us too!"

"Great idea, my–"

"What? No." Erin eyed them incredulously. "Oh, you wouldn't want wake him. He's like a grumpy gramps that shouldn't be staying past his bedtime and you don't want to get him angry, don't you?" _And only you two are crazy enough to be_ this _excited to play a game this late in the night! Damn jetlag must be really getting to them._

Finally getting them to sit down around the coffee table in the living room, Erin pulled out a pen and placed in the middle of the furniture.

"Truth or Dare. Heard of it?" She responded to the puzzled looks on their faces.

"Oh yes," Prince Soma clapped his hands together in excitement. "I saw it on some American movie before and it was-"

"And Agni," Erin turned her head to the man who still looked confused. "I'm guessing you haven't?"

"Familiar but I'm not too sure."

"I'll explain to him, Miss Erin," Prince Soma threw her a wink and turned to his manager. "Each of us will take a turn to spin the pen this lady here has put on the table and…"

Erin leaned back on her seat with a yawn and watched them through drooping eyelids. She saw their eyes glitter with life as one explained and another listened.

Erin felt herself drifting off to the darkness behind her closing eyelids.

"Miss Erin!"

With a startled gasp, her eyes flew opened and she found herself being stared at by two pair of eyes.

"What what? You're done?" Erin's sleepy gaze flickered over to the clock.

 _3:30am…_

Erin could barely resist the urge to groan out loud. She only had, what, less than _three_ hours to sleep?

"I understood perfectly well, Miss Erin. As expected of my clever prince with his brilliant use of words." Agni nodded with a beaming smile.

Erin stifled a yawn and leaned forward. "So you know the rules now?" It was more like a statement than a question but Agni nodded again.

"Excellent. Let's start then. I'll go first to show you an example." With that said, she spun the pen and they watched it as it turned and stopped barely completing a full circle.

The pointed end gradually came to a very ungraceful, rattling stop in the direction of Agni.

Agni's eyes lit up, excited to be the first. "Ooh, I'll be choosing right?"

"Aww, I was hoping it would be me…" Erin heard Prince Soma mumble to himself.

"Yeah, so which is it?"

Erin watched his eyebrows meet as he thought hard.

"Are you man enough to pick 'Dare' or want to stay safe like a _coward_ by picking 'Truth?"

Her lips twitched with a hint of smirk when she caught the answer that appeared as a sharp gleam of challenge lit up in his eyes at her prompting.

"Dare."

"Ooh so manly." Erin commented insincerely with a delighted smirk as she shifted forward in her seat. "Okay, so here's the dare and it is absolute."

Agni and Prince Soma looked at her expectantly.

"Okay, I dare you to reach your hotel in five minutes while ensuring safety of Prince Soma. You have no more no less or you will lose, understand?"

She faked a thinking face as she glanced over at the clock. "The countdown the moment you step out of the door will start." Rising from the couch, Erin find herself nearly bursting into laughter at the serious, determined look on Agni's face.

"I will not fail."

"I'm sure you won't~" Erin said in a sing-song voice, ushering them to the door. She pulled open the door for them, barely able to contain her anticipation to turn in for the night.

"Agni, let's make Ciel proud!" Erin glanced over her shoulder to see Prince Soma exclaim to Agni with passion like fire in his eyes.

Agni bowed his head, clapping his hands together. "We certainly will, my prince."

"Alright _guys_ ," Erin interrupted them before they could continue, "I'm going to count from three."

She stepped back, away from the door behind her.

"…3."

Her eyebrows rose at how Agni had instantly gathered the purple haired in his arms the moment she started to count. "…2."

"…1. Go!"

In a burst of speed, Erin blinked in surprise as the tall man dashed through the door at a speed she had no idea he was capable of. "We'll make a call over when we reach!" She heard the voice sounding like it belonged to the 'prince' shouted as they ran down the hallway.

Surprise flashed past her features at that but was quickly replaced by a gleeful smirk. There was no harm taking a _sweet_ little revenge on that guy for making her lose sleep, wasn't there?

"Alright, be sure to call Phantomhive!"

"Okay!" She heard the same voice reply back cheerfully.

Closing the door and making sure it was locked, she leaned back heavily against the door and blew out a heavy sigh, giving herself a mental pat on her shoulder. "Heheh, I'm a such genius…"

* * *

The slick iPhone on his bedside table continued to vibrate, illuminating the dark room with the bright light emitted from its screen. The rocky tune of 'Shiver' by the GazettE continued to play as the young man in the bed stirred, slowly awaken by the intrusion into the silence of the room.

His robin blue eyes peeked out sleepily from behind his eyelids and glanced over to the phone to his right. A blurry, neon vision of the time from his clock made him scowl – it was only about four in the morning.

He did not set an alarm for four so why was his phone making so much noise?

Glaring in annoyance at his ringing phone, Ciel snatched it up to find out that it was an incoming call and answered, too irritated to check who it was.

"What?" He growled into his phone.

"Ciel, Ciel! We've reached our hotel!"

An eyebrow rose at the familiar voice of Prince Soma. "…So?"

"And it was within _five_ minutes! But of course, it is _expected_ of Agni to not fail…"

Now all he was hearing now was blah blah blah as his face fell with an incredulous look. "I'm hanging up." With not another word, Ciel cut the call and scowled at his phone.

What was that about?

Carelessly tossing away his phone to the other side of his king sized bed, Ciel rolled over, one thought or more specifically, one _name_ in his mind lighting a spark of irritation in him.

 _Keighley…_

* * *

"Care to explain why I was disturbed by a call from Prince Soma at _four_ in the morning?" Ciel fired the question that came into mind the moment he woke up as he slid into the back of his usual ride to school.

Hmm?

Eyes flying open from her little nap at the driver seat, Erin jerked up at the sudden voice. "Huh?"

"I said," Ciel cut his gaze over to the back of her head as he spoke through gritted teeth. "I received a call from Prince Soma. Why?"

 _What?_

Now, Erin was wide awake.

She blinked, once, twice before she fully grasped his words. So amazed. _They really did it…_ She accidentally let out a snort of amusement.

"What was that, Keighley?"

Erin quickly stopped herself when she caught him narrowing his eyes suspiciously at her from the rearview mirror.

"Oh my," Erin slapped a hand over her mouth in feign surprise and gasped exasperatedly. "How can they be so inconsiderate?" She threw a wide-eyed horrified look over her shoulder.

"What happened to keeping them company?" Ciel rose an eyebrow at her. "Do you want to be kicked out?"

"Hey, I've done an excellent job if you ask me." Erin jumped to her defence with a frown. "I played a really nice game with them and they went home. That's it."

Ciel looked unimpressed. "Then what was with that call from Prince Soma?"

"Not a damn clue," Erin shrugged innocently, parking them beside the traffic light that had just turned red. "I just did what you told me to do and went to sleep."

Ciel eyed the girl skeptically, "Oh, really?"

"Yeah, is it that hard to believe?" Erin shot him an offended look before moving the car again, thinking hard for a way to quickly change the subject and was delighted when she remembered the exhibition. "Oh _anyway,_ in case you're thinking of asking me to babysit some overgrown men again, _I_ have plans tonight."

Ciel eyed her for a brief moment, "Do whatever you want," and leaned back with a dismissal wave, completely losing interest in the subject as she had hoped for. "Just keep your Saturday night free."

"What for?" Erin mumbled with a raised eyebrow as she steered the car around a corner.

But a vague answer was all she got.

"You'll see."

* * *

The museum was fairly quiet and there were quite a number of visitors like her, strolling from artwork to artwork. Despite the number of people present in the exhibition area reserved for the works of Grell Sutcliffe, the heavy presence of visitors could barely be felt.

Erin slowed down before the next display and admired the portrait of a silhouette of a young man in a top hat standing in the middle of a cobblestoned street from the Victorian era that towered over her, her interest instantly captured.

The mystery and horror that lurked during the era had always intrigued her. Something about that time always drew her in.

Pulling out her camera from her bag, Erin raised the device in her hands to her eyes but caught herself, forgetting that photography wasn't allowed in here.

What a pity, she thought as she lowered the camera with a silent sigh.

"Oh my, the way his eyes burns into that paper."

Erin jolted at the sudden voice and was shock when she turned find herself looking at…red. A second look, she quickly realized it was a person. She would have mistaken him as a woman if not for his deep voice. His long hair was red, his coat was red and even his glasses was the same colour!

"…That intensity blaze as passionate as the way my heart races whenever I simply lay my eyes on him." The person sighed longingly.

Eying him strangely as he continued his dramatic monologue, Erin followed his gaze and widened her eyes in surprise to find them landing on…Sebastian?

What on earth was he doing here?

Erin stared at the distant man who was standing by one of the huge windows, away from the exhibition yet visible to her. He was indeed looking at a paper in his hand…rather intensively as the strange red man had described.

"Give me that!" She felt her camera being snatched out of her hands before she could turn her head back to the red man.

"Hey!" Erin protested with a glare.

But it fell to deaf ears. She watched, speechless, as the red man began snapping pictures of Sebastian eagerly with her camera. What the…

She stared dumbfounded at him.

"Lovely, lovely…" Erin heard him muttered as he flew through different positions, snapping away incessantly. "Ah yes yes…wonderful expression, Sebby, wonderful…!"

Her eyebrows rose incredulously when the man let out an excited squeal.

Erin stared at the red man with fast-diminishing patience, her scowl grow bigger by the second. Her annoyance could be seen in the way she was gritting her teeth.

"Give me back my camera already!" Erin finally snapped and snatched the camera right out of his hands. Huffing irritably, she stalked off in the opposite direction the red man was facing, her speed fuelled by annoyance.

Her green eyes blazed as she stuffed her camera back into her bag.

"Oh you stupid girl, how dare you take away Sebby's pictures away from Grell!"

Erin froze in her tracks, her eyes flying wide in horror and shock.

Grell?

Did he just…

As in _the_ Grell Sutcliffe?

* * *

 **a/n:** And Grell appears! Hahahah he's so silly I love him! What's a Kuroshitsuji fanfic without our beloved ultimate fangirl of Sebastian in the story? The list of canon characters appearing are growing and there certainly will be more as we continue down the plot. And yes, it is _confirmed_ that the fake and real Ciel thing will be definitely included. You'll just have to read and see. *winks*

Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. Please review and let me know what you like or dislike in this chapter! I really wish to find out so kindly tell me.


	6. The Other Mask

**a/n:** Hi all, here we go with the next chapter! I'm really sorry for the long wait! University is taking up a lot of time especially this semester with a ridiculous amount of projects I have to work on. Anyway, hope you'll like it! I've proofread but might have missed some so please bear with me. The chapter title may temporary as I was having a hard time finding the best title for this chapter.

Please review afterwards, thanks!

* * *

 **Chapter 06** – **The Other Mask**

* * *

It would have been a _beautiful_ Saturday if she could sleep till the noon and not need to wake up at nine because somebody thought she looked like she was someone 'he picked off the streets'. Woken up by a call from Ciel _fucking_ Phantomhive who she was surprised to know that he had cooped himself up in his office who knows how early in the morning.

" _Get yourself downstairs now, Sebastian would be arriving to pick you up in three minutes._ "

All she could muster was "Why?" in a groggy drawl.

" _Today's a big day and the last thing I need is someone who looked like I picked them off the streets."_

So here she was, standing outside at the driveway of Westons Apartments with boogers still sitting at the edges of her eyes and her hair in frizzy mess. Hastily brushing her teeth, and throwing on worn ripped jeans she was planning to wash today and a black tee was the fastest way she could get ready.

The only thing she wanted now was to get away from the morning chilly air and back to her warm bed.

Erin stifled another yawn as she watched a grey Mercedes-Benz smoothly slip out of the busy traffic and into the driveway. When she made her way forward, she could see Sebastian looking over expectantly through the dark-tinted windows, the sight of his face instantly reminding her of yesterday evening's incident.

Of how he had suddenly appeared beside and when she realized his presence, her camera was in _his_ hand. The last thing she remembered was him mulling over her device as he walked away unceremoniously, leaving her and the strange guy staring after him dumbfounded.

Erin felt a spark of irritation as the scene from yesterday played in her head once more.

What was with these people and her camera? Was it just her or are most of the people she had met so far in London so…unbearably rude and strange?

Immediately snapping out of her drowsy state, Erin slipped into the car and instantly glared at him the moment she closed its rear door beside her. "Hey, can I have my camera back already?" She stuck a hand out to the front.

"I apologize. I dislike having my pictures taken especially by Mr. Sutcliffe." She felt a familiar weight weigh down on her hand as she looked up at Sebastian who bore a smile on his handsome face, not looking a bit apologetic at all.

"And I really hate it when people touch or take my things without asking." Erin switched on her camera and screened through her storage to find the pictures the strange red man had taken of Sebastian gone.

She perked up curiously, "Mr. Sutcliffe, you say? Was that man yesterday really…the Grell Sutcliffe? Why would someone entirely different appear on the net under his name?"

An impassive glint appeared in Sebastian's eyes as he whisked the car through the traffic effortlessly. "Things that doesn't concern Mr. Phantomhive are not my business to know or care."

"…Oh okay."

* * *

Erin found herself at the doorstep of a luxurious two-storey store with a huge _Highcut Avenue_ screaming from its entrance. A place she knew she could never afford to go with the money in her bank.

Where was she? She had no idea.

But from the name of store itself, she assumed a beauty salon.

Sebastian swept her through the grand glass double door before she could finish gaping at its exterior and her eyes immediately was drawn by equally exquisite design of the store. The stairs winding down from the second floor situated behind the reception counter was gorgeous with a modern edge to it, like the ones she had seen in one of IKEA's catalogues.

The absence of any customers and the three staffs looking at her, almost in an appraising manner concerned her and made her feel weirdly naked under their gazes. Her green eyes almost nervously met the three in respond to their calculating stares.

The first thing that came to mind was triplets from their identical faces, hair colour and strangely…mannerisms as well. The only difference was the way their hair were parted.

"You know what to do," She nearly jumped when Sebastian spoke, realizing that she had forgotten about him. "Mr. Phantomhive expects nothing less."

" _What_?"

Before she could ask anymore, she found herself steered towards a cushioned chair and was forced to sit. Glancing up at the reflection of the mirrored wall before her with a bewildered look, the two of the three identical faces of the salon staff stared back at her.

"I'm Thompson, a hairstylist." The one directly behind her met her eyes as he began to fiddle with her hair.

"The name's Timber, make-up." Sweeping his fringe which had fallen over his face to the right, the man walked off to somewhere behind.

"Miss Keighley," Erin returned her attention back to Thompson with a bemused look. "When was the last time you trimmed your hair?"

Erin blinked once, twice.

"Hold up, whatever you are planning to do is seriously _not_ necessary. I know I'm kind of a lost case but honestly, I don't really care. You hear that, Sebastian?" Erin turned in the chair and tried to look past the hairstylist at the entrance where she stood earlier. "I said I don't care or need a stupid makeover so can I just go home now? Tell that jerk…Oh."

She cursed under her breath when she realized Sebastian was nowhere in sight and turned back in her chair, slumping in defeat. "Wonderful, has anyone thought of asking my opinion in like…anything?"

"Orders are orders, Miss Keighley." Thompson said blandly, "Now, how long has it been since you gave your hair a trim?"

Erin thought for a while and cringed immediately to an answer that surfaced. "…A few years, I think?"

"I guess I should have thought so. The number of split ends you have here are rather...astounding. And have it ever occurred to you that your hair length to your mid-back here," Erin felt him prod her back lightly, "in this straight fashion looks rather unflattering?"

"Hmm, not really." Erin shrugged, "...I think it looks okay actually."

"What I'm going to do will change your mind."

"Really…? What?" Erin gazed skeptically at the confident look on Thompson's face through the mirror.

As if he was mulling over something, Thompson simply swept her hair over her shoulders where they laid splayed across and curled their ends around his long fingers. "A loose perm would do. And maybe some side-swept bangs for the front."

"What do you think, Canterbury?"

Hearing him suddenly address someone else, Erin turned sharply to her left just as she felt someone pick her hand off the chair's armrest.

"Terrible, Thompson. We have a nail-biter here." The man eyed her nails with disapproval on a knee before gazing up at her. "When was the last time you went for a manicure, Miss?"

The only thing she ever remember doing to them was paint them and suddenly felt very self-conscious.

"Erm," Erin stared back at him before sheepishly cracking a nervous smile at him. "…Never?"

* * *

A silent, somewhat tall figure of Ciel Phantomhive stood, gazing out at the skyline that being on the 21st floor of Phantom headquarters offered. The silence that held the young man was as intense as the thoughts running through his head.

The massive attack on his family manor eight years ago, exactly on the day of his 12th birthday was again occupying his head, and his hatred and rage from that day still held his soul.

Being able to escape from the cult that had captured right after was almost like a miracle that was in the form of Sebastian - a human quite extraordinary that had burst into the hell he was a prisoner in. Out of nowhere.

Returning to the spotlight at age fourteen as a teen model, he quickly rose to fame and even more so when he became 'President' of his all-time famous family business _Phantom_ at eighteen.

The power he gained over the years was his leverage for one thing that only ever mattered ever since he was free – vengeance for the humiliation he had to suffer and nothing more. At the price of something Sebastian had yet to reveal.

He didn't know what but he didn't care. His wealth, his heart, his life or even his soul…It didn't matter anymore.

His robin blue eyes glanced down at his middle finger, eyeing the sapphire blue ring that once sat on his thumb when he was younger with a meaningful glint in his gaze.

"Today would be another step forward."

"Another step to what?"

Blinking out of his thoughts in time to hear a 'ding' echoing from behind, Ciel turned around to find a pair of women stepping out of his private lift. His eyes widened slightly in surprise at the one rushing over to him with her long blond locks flying fast behind her.

Elizabeth Ethel Cordelia Midford.

His one and only female cousin who apparently has been holding on to her childish desire to marry him despite marriage between relatives were viewed rather disdainfully as 'incest' in this age of the world.

Ciel tried to pry her arms away from his neck, patting her awkwardly on the back. "Elizabeth, didn't I tell you to wait for me to pick you up at Burberry?"

Peering over Elizabeth's head, he turned his gaze to the other woman standing behind his cousin. "Paula, I thought her shoot wouldn't end until four?" He frowned at the manager who had a sheepish smile.

"Mr. Sutcliffe was in a really bad mood today so he ended it early." Her big brown eyes shifted with curiosity. "He was yelling so much. I wonder why though…"

"I couldn't stand another minute there," Ciel's gaze drifted back down to Elizabeth who pouted for a second before looking at him cheerfully, "Plus I haven't seen my dear fiancé for such a long time. You and I are always so busy, and I hate it!" The model clung onto his arm with a frown on her face.

This again?

Ciel let out a silent sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Elizabeth, we're already twenty and-"

"It's Lizzie, Ciel, stop calling me Elizabeth."

Urgh, why did he bother?

"Sorry I meant _Lizzie_ ," Ciel cleared his throat and glanced over at the digital rectangular clock on his desk, quickly speaking again to stir them away from the pointless topic. "You should probably start preparing for the party. We only have two hours till then."

Elizabeth turned her gaze to his desk clock as well and gasped. "It's already three? I need to get my hair and my face done. And oh no, my dress!"

Ciel eyed his cousin's worried face calmly as she continued to babble away,

"Stop panicking, it's no big deal." Elizabeth paused her flustered monologue, "Head upstairs, your mother was looking for you just now. I'll get some hairstylist and make-up artist up there."

Slipping a hand into his dark casual blazer jacket, Ciel pulled out his phone and begin to dial.

"And I'll go retrieve your dress, Miss Lizzie!" Paula jumped in hurriedly.

Ciel placed his phone to his ear and wordlessly gestured them to leave with a purposeful wave in the direction of the lift. When he saw that the lift doors had closed behind them, he turned back to the view of city behind once more with narrowed eyes.

"Sebastian, get those three over here…and Keighley too. I have a mission for you and Keighley after this."

* * *

Erin sat on the edge of the cushioned bench, fiddling with her phone in her hands. Her eyes roamed the lobby, from the huge Phantom logo behind the long glass-topped front counter to the chandeliers that looked like long droplets rooted into the high ceiling above.

Even though she was all made up and dressed in a dark wine fitting romper by Phantom with a black Burberry trench coat over it, she still felt self-conscious of her own status among the people in the lobby. Everyone seemed loaded and carried a sense of purpose wherever they went or in whatever they do.

Questions had been stuck in her head ever since Sebastian dropped her off here and left with the three from the beauty salon.

What was she doing in Phantom _?_

Why did she have to be dressed like this?

Where were they going?

Sebastian mentioned about a mission for her earlier. What mission does Phantomhive have in mind for her?

The last question made her the most nervous. She couldn't stop thinking of the worst, most absurd things planned for her. Ciel Phantomhive was a ridiculous, arrogant man and that was the only impression she had of him ever since she met him.

Erin looked down at her phone and checked for any incoming message, hopefully some that would answer her questions. She sighed when she found none. With nothing else to do, she stared back at herself using the inside camera of her phone and snapped a selfie.

It was still hard to believe that the woman in the picture was her. She was still recognizable under the layers of makeup, but this new sight was making her feeling somewhat…shy.

She had always found herself looking average. But hearing that she had pretty features from Timber who had murmured in a very matter-of-fact manner in the studio earlier while doing her makeup was pleasantly surprising.

Erin thanked god the eyeliner he used her did not make look as weird as she thought she would look because the last time she attempted using one, she looked like a panda or someone punched her in the eyes.

Studying his work on her eyes admirably, she liked how they seemed to make her eyes 'pop' and emphasize her green irises, looking extraordinarily large and kind of electrifying against her pale skin and dark loosely curled long hair.

While she found sitting for four hours straight a _literal_ pain in the ass, she really liked this makeover. Very much. For someone as low maintenance as her, she bet Audrey and Olivia would get the shock of their life if they see her like this.

Turning her screen on to check for messages again, she noted with puzzlement that it had already been thirty minutes ever since she was told to wait here.

Admiring herself with a gleeful small smile once more when her screen went black to reveal her reflection, Erin looked up from her phone when she felt the bench underneath her shift to a new weight.

Seated not so far away from her was a young man looking around her age with a lavish violet frock coat hung loosely on his shoulders, adjusting the sunglasses on his nose. The way his pale blond hair was blown and styled to frame his pretty face reminded her of someone.

Her eyes widened in surprise at the familiar bright blue eyes that peeked out from behind the sunglasses in the brief moment when he slightly lifted it off his nose.

"…Alex?"

Blinking in surprise at the name that slipped past her lips, she slapped a hand over her lips in horror when she realized that she had just blurted out the name of the person that had surfaced in her mind.

The young man had a surprised look when he glanced over in response. For a moment, she thought she saw a flash of recognition on his face but the confusion that he shot her made her flush in embarrassment to think about nothing else but apologizing.

"Erm sorry, I thought you looked a lot like a friend from school." Erin scratched her cheek sheepishly.

"It's fine." A vague smile appeared on the man's face as he pulled the sunglasses slightly down his nose to reveal his eyes once again. "So what do you think of Alex?"

Silence.

"What?" Erin asked again, not sure she was hearing his random question clearly.

His smile brightened with amusement and his eyes seemed to be glittering with mischief when he turned his head and let out a laughter, almost child-like laughter. "Nothing, I was joking." He laughed again.

"Heheh…" Erin let out an awkward laugh. Still finding hard to shake off the strange spark of recognition whenever she met his eyes.

The man placed his sunglasses back over his eyes and leaned over slightly, "Alois Trancy." He muttered softly with a charming smile but audible enough for her to catch onto, sticking a hand out to her.

"Erin Keighley." Erin smiled back, slipping a hand into his which was surprisingly cool to touch.

She thought she saw him flinch with an emotion resembling surprise when she held his hand but brush it off when he spoke again, shaking her hand. "People I meet usually overreact when I tell them my name."

"Really? They sound strange." Erin rose an eyebrow at him and eyed curiously. "I don't see why anyone would do that."

The man let out a light chuckle

"I wonder why too." He released her hand and shrugged dismissively. "But may I say this, Miss Keighley?" He gave her a quick look-over. "You look especially stunning today."

Taken aback by his sudden compliment, Erin gingerly cracked a small smile. "Thanks."

Her phone let out a curt vibration.

Her face fell the moment she laid her eyes on her screen.

 _Get the car ready at the entrance. We'll be down in three minutes. Make sure the car is warmed by the time we reach downstairs._

It was Phantomhive and another ridiculous request once again.

Within three minutes?

But the car was currently parked somewhere in the carpark underground…

How the hell was she going to do all that in that limited time?

He was asking her for the impossible again.

Erin fought the urge to groan aloud in frustration, remembering the presence next to her.

The man beside her had somehow sensed her frustration.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just that I've got some errands to run for an asshole." Erin rolled her eyes, "Sorry, I gotta go. It's been nice meeting you, Mr. Trancy." She threw him a smile and stood, momentarily wobbling on the pair of stilettos she had spent the remaining time in the beauty salon practicing walking in.

Quickly steadying herself, Erin threw her phone into the clutch in her hand and glared at the entrance.

"Stupid Phantomhive."

All kinds of angry words she could think up of escaped her lips in a low voice as she stalked past the man with speed fueled by her annoyance.

Smile sliding off his face and all pleasantries completely wiped off his pretty face, an unreadable look and a glint sharp yet soft in his gaze appeared as his head turned to follow her.

Staring after her, Alois Trancy narrowed his eyes at her retreating back.

* * *

 **a/n:** The list of canon characters in the story has expanded with the Elizabeth Midford, Paula and the official appearance of Alois Trancy as you have read.

'Official'?

Yes, he already appeared in an earlier chapter and I think I made it pretty obvious with this chapter. I hope you guessed it! More will appear in the next chapter! The thing about Grell would clear up in the future chapters so stay tune!

Please review!


	7. Party of Chaos

**a/n:** My two-months break just begun last week and I became obsessed with an old anime ('Prince of Tennis') that I haven't touched for a long time. I ended up starting a new fanfic for that anime but thankfully, your fellow reader stopped me or else I was gonna end up adding a new story to my pile of uncompleted stories. (I hear you, **April** , thanks!) It's bad habit to start a new before finishing the current ones, sorry!

Anyway, we ended the previous chapter with the official appearance of Alois Trancy, in case anyone forgot due to my long-ass absence.

Review. Review. Review – you know what I love!

 **Disclaimer:** Kuroshitsuji is a masterpiece created by Yana Toboso-sensei. This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of my imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons is coincidental.

* * *

 **Chapter 07** – **Party of Chaos**

* * *

Prada.

A global luxurious brand originated from Italy, its glory in the fashion world amplified by the ones in the spotlight – actors and actress, musicians and needless to say, models. Prada has yet again expanded its influence with the opening of another main establishment in Europe, in the home city of the Queen – London.

 _A Prada headquarters, huh._ It was absolutely bizarre how a broke student like her managed to be in the center of London's biggest party, mingling in a room with _famous_ people.

The party was extravagant, as expected of Prada.

Against the wine-red carpeted floor set up for the event, the theme and decorations were mostly clean-white – the tall round tables people mingled around were dressed in silky white cloths; the curtains that clung to the pillars shared the same characteristics as the table cloths. On the walls, banners showcasing men and women with their products were almost everywhere.

Erin could recognize a popular rock song by the home-grown band 'The Prefects' was playing in the background.

She had to admit it was pretty exciting to see celebrities up close. There was some she recognized.

Lau Cheng, another phenomenal photographer from China. A known rival of Britain's Grell Sutcliffe.

Ran Mao, another phenomenal figure from China. Her 'sexy' style of modelling earned her a spot in the World's Top Five Sexiest Women. Scandalous rumours about Lau Cheng and Ran Mao has been circulating in the media for _years_.

Erin wasn't too surprised to see 'Prince' Soma and Agni either.

Living and putting up with Phantomhive and his antics, it _did_ surprise her to see him being swamped by paparazzi and shrieking fans the moment she stopped the car before the entrance of the headquarters. It was easy to forget that he himself was a celebrity too, when all she saw was an asshole.

Sad to say, nobody she knew was like her.

Even Elizabeth Midford, who was linking arms with Phantomhive, was also swamped by the crowd. Being a cousin of the remarkably famous Ciel Phantomhive, plus a rising model and actress in the field – she was no ordinary person too.

And there was her. Erin Keighley, a poor student fighting for a living in London by being someone's damn dog. Ordinary would be an understatement for her.

Bizarre, indeed.

Erin thanked god the paparazzi were kept out by the bouncers because if news got out, her mum was going to kill her, Adrian will _freak_ and the girls...? She could totally see them dropping everything and rushing over to London to _grill_ _her dry_ and then proceed to scream their heads off.

Urgh, just thinking about it all was scary enough.

Even with all the famous faces around her, Erin grew bored eventually, so currently 'awkward' was fitting for her.

She did not belong here or to this ridiculously expensive appearance for a role Phantomhive put her up to.

It was rather odd for that pompous bastard to introduce her as his secretary; she had assumed that he would make her parade around in the Phantom romper she was made to wear like a circus monkey to promote his company or something as absurd – this was Phantomhive afterall. Can anyone blame her for having that first thought?

Back against the wall ever since she was introduced and had slipped away upon Phantomhive's silent cue, Erin kept her eyes peeled for the faces on the list Sebastian had sent to her the moment he took over the car they drove in under the disguise of a parking valet.

She did not know what was going on, but she was assigned to look out for the listed people using the pictures attached to the document and was to mark them on her phone if they were spotted. The need for subtlety was emphasized in the short note Sebastian sent her after.

It was a strange task, with no explanation or rationale offered to her.

Erin casted a gaze at her phone and scowled at the three marked people she had so far. Where were the other two? A heavy sigh escaped her as she drew her attention back to the party around her, instantly to a distant tall figure of a certain man.

Right there, in the centre of attention.

Ciel Phantomhive, who found interacting with people _annoying_ , was...talkative.

With the strangest thing on his face – a smile. A smile that could have captivated her as well if he was a stranger to her, just like others whose eyes were drawn to his charming manoeuvres like moths to a flame.

If she put aside the fact that Ciel Phantomhive was insufferable and pretended that he was nice, she could understand why people were making a fuss over him – blessed with a good face, the charismatic, confident yet gave off an untouchable vibe was what that lured eyes and hearts to him in the face of the public.

As incredulous as it could get, the whole scene was, nonetheless, very amusing to watch. No, not only in this party.

She could see it now. _This_ Ciel Phantomhive was who her friends had fallen for.

She couldn't tell whether it was a blessing or a curse to know him behind the scenes. The untouchable vibe remained, but like the flip of a coin, he was a stone-cold, cunning person that one would wish they will never need to deal with.

Erin stared reproachfully at the back of his head.

Damn Phantomhive and his fake-ass smiles.

* * *

A tired sigh escaped him as soon as he excused himself away from the crowd, his lips aching from the constant smiles he had placed on his face. He didn't exactly know how he got sucked into the conversation when it was Elizabeth who decided to greet an old co-worker. Somehow, one co-worker became two, and two became five.

Talking was such a pain. He could never understand how Elizabeth could enjoy pointless chit-chats about practically nothing of importance.

Ciel ran a hand through his hair wearily and glanced back at his cousin who was _still_ talking. How...? He grimaced and turned back to the refreshment table he has been eying since he saw Undertaker stop by there.

He needed a snack anyway.

Ciel weaved through the crowd, pretending not to see or hear anyone who tried to reach out to him. Plucking a glass of champagne off the tray of a passing waiter, the twenty years old stopped before the cackling Undertaker.

Staring curiously at the man who was hunching over in laughter, Ciel's eyes flitted over to the person responsible–

Of course he will be seeing him here. Whenever there was an event no matter big or small, he would be there.

Ciel sighed, pinching his temples wearily.

"Ah, isn't it Mr. Phantomhive?"

"Lau." Ciel bluntly acknowledged the Chinese photographer before turning back to Undertaker.

But instead, found himself needing to look down at Undertaker who had somehow laughed his way to the floor. "Oi Undertaker." Ciel eyed the man on the floor, unimpressed.

"How long do you plan to laugh?"

The man remained on the floor, laughing seemingly even louder. "Gehehehe...!" Ciel's words totally bouncing off him.

Ciel eyed the Undertaker with an irked look and dragged a hand down his hand exasperatedly. Seething impatiently.

"So have you found a way to make Undertaker laugh the way I did," Lau leaned in with a mocking smile, "without depending on Mr. Sebastian, hmm Mr. Phantomhive...? Where is he anyway?"

Brushing off the mocking question, Ciel spun back to the Chinese photographer with a scowl.

"What are you doing here anyway? I thought you said you were going to work on your project with that Trancy moron in Beijing."

"Well, Mr. Grell has issued a challenge to me to see whose photobook was going to gain highest sales. So typical of him, but when he suggested getting you and Mr. Trancy to model for us, how can I refuse? "

Ciel in the midst of sipping on his champagne, choked.

Lau chuckled at the spluttering young man, snapping his paper fan open with the flick of his wrist. "You should seriously consider modelling for me again, Mr. Phantomhive. Do you have any idea how interesting it would be if Great Britain's two most desirable twenty-year-old men were to compete?

"Of course not," Ciel snapped incredulously after he recovered. "Don't be ridiculous, Lau, I have more important things to do than some foolish competition."

"Such a pity, Mr. Trancy has already agreed to work with Mr. Grell."

"I don't care," Ciel scoffed. "Find someone else who does."

He swung his gaze back to Undertaker to find him watching their exchange from the floor with a wide grin and a hand propped under his chin.

The other guests who walked past by simply looked on in amusement; Undertaker has always been known for his eccentric nature. Everything about this man was odd – appearing in his typical black robe everywhere he went even to a party was what earned him his famous name 'Undertaker'.

"Get up, Undertaker," Ciel crossed his arms with a sigh, "Tell me what you know about–"

"Gehehe, Mr. Phantomhive, you know what I need first~" Undertaker rolled onto his back lazily with the wide grin that never left his face. "Give me the finest laughter!"

Giving thoughts to Undertaker's request with a sneer, Ciel's fingers found their way to his temples once more.

"Haven't you had enough of laughing from just now?" Ciel grumbled irritably, his mouth tightening with impatience.

"I can help if you like, Mr. Phantomhive," Lau paused to blow a ring of smoke through his mouth. "Say, how about an exchange?"

Shifting his gaze, Ciel regarded the Chinese photographer warily.

* * *

Jade green eyes peered over the top of the tall glass of sparkling water, subtly following the movement of a certain tanned man who has been looking around ever since he entered the main entrance five minutes ago.

Günter Wagner.

The last one on her list, but somehow she couldn't take her eyes off him. There was something about him that intrigued her, alarmed her...Why?

The behavior she had observed since she laid her eyes on him was familiar; there was something about his body language that reminded her of something she had seen in the movies.

However, she couldn't quite place a finger on _what_.

Quickly darting her eyes to the glass in her hand when the man swept his gaze her direction, Erin turned away in hopes that he did not catch her staring.

"Fancy meeting you here, Miss Keighley."

Huh?

Erin's head turned sharply to the voice, and blinked in confusion at a young man approaching from her right.

One with styled blond hair and violet frock coat– "Oh, it's you." Surprise flashed past her features.

He was the one she met at Phantom earlier, wasn't he? The one that reminded her of her schoolmate. What was his name again? Alois...Travor? Thomas? _Turner_? Ugh.

She must have accidentally shown it all on her face, because his eyes were now dancing with amusement. "I do hope Miss Keighley remembers my name...Do you?" He tilted his head gleefully at her with an airy giggle.

"Right, of course..." Erin nodded hesitantly and silently cursing herself for being so bad at remembering names. "Alois, erm T-T..." She struggled to recall. But again, did she care?

"Sorry, I don't–"

"You don't...?" Erin jerked her gaze up in alarm and watched the bright expression on his face abruptly darken into a look she thought looked like anger. "Bloody, _bloody_ shame you didn't...!"

Curious eyes darted over to them from his outburst; murmurs broke across the few close enough to notice.

What the heck?

Erin eyed him warily, tightening her grip around her glass. Was he _that_ upset at her for not remembering his name? Seriously? He looked like he was about to blow up.

There was a tense silence between them; Erin struggling on how to react and Alois narrowing his eyes at her dangerously.

"I-"

She nearly dropped her drink when he suddenly burst out into fits of childish giggles. As if he was being tickled.

Erm...

Erin stared at him strangely, not knowing what to do or say.

The man stopped his giggling abruptly and suddenly tilted his head at her, staring back at her with a serious, tensed face. Like he was mulling over something.

Another weird silence filled the air between them, leaving only the surrounding chatters and the music playing from the P.A.

"Dance with me."

" _Huh_?" Erin blinked at him with a look of utter bewilderment. "Dance? I don't dance." The conversation had certainly taken a strange turn.

His thin lips formed a childish pout. "Why not?"

"Nobody else is dancing. Plus, I don't know how _and_ I don't want to." Erin scowled at him. "I don't wish to rude but are you drunk or something, Mr. Alois?"

Erin grimaced when he burst out into laughter _again_. Great, another strange one.

"I like you, you're funny Miss Keighley!" The man clapped his hands together delightfully.

 _I am?_ An eyebrow rose.

This one apparently, also had a very _odd_ sense of humor. _Weirdo._

"So..." Alois leaned in abruptly, his mouth dangerously close to her ear. "What are you doing later?"

Eliciting a surprised gasp at their sudden close proximity, Erin shrunk back with widened eyes. "Hey!–"

"I would appreciate it if you refrain from distracting my secretary, Trancy."

Before Erin could turn her head to identify the speaker, a hand out of nowhere snapped around her wrist and she found herself tugged back. She felt her breath getting knocked out of her as she stumbled back, bumping her back into a solid, breathing wall.

Seeing the way a smirk slyly made its way across Alois' face at someone behind her, Erin spared a glance behind her to find out who she was leaning against. Only let out another gasp of surprise.

"Phan-Phantomhive...!"

Erin quickly upright herself and hurriedly stepped away, but found herself unable to move much further than the spot beside Phantomhive; her wrist still in the firm grasp of the man himself who was much too busy putting his guard up in the presence of the smirking man.

"Ohhh? Did you miss me, Ciel?" Alois asked in a sing-song voice.

Ciel raised his gaze to meet Alois', his blue eyes looking even more piercing with a cutting glare like a glint from a razor sharp blade. "Don't act familiar with me," His voice was even yet held a cold edge to it. "I don't remember allowing you to use my name as you please, Trancy."

Trancy.

Erin's face lit up in realization; the rest of their exchange falling past her.

Oh, now it clicked.

It was Alois _Trancy_.

So absorbed into her little eureka moment, Erin failed to notice that their exchange had ended until she felt herself being tugged once again, drawn away from Alois with her legs mechanically following after Ciel, tension still holding his jaw clenched.

Staring at his back in puzzlement, Erin casted one last glance at the man they left behind.

* * *

"What were you doing fraternizing with Alois Trancy?"

Ciel dropped his grip around her wrist and spun around to meet her with narrowed eyes the moment they reached a less crowded side of the party.

"Really? Out of all the people here, Keighley." His face reeked mockery. "Didn't know you have such poor taste in men."

" _What_?" Erin shot him an incredulous scowl. "I was _not_ , Phantomhive, I was dying to get away in case you're too slow to realize." An eyebrow rose defiantly, "And poor taste in men? You don't see me fawning all over you, did you?"

A scoff.

"Exactly as I said, _poor_ taste in men." Ciel deflected snidely, tad amusement on his face disappearing as quickly as it came before his face fell serious. "Alright, enough chit-chat. I hope you have done what Sebastian had instructed."

"Of course, I did." Erin eyed him sourly. "While you were frolicking around, I was..." Her eyes flickered over his shoulder, to a movement behind.

Günter Wagner. Again.

Erin narrowed her eyes at the muscled man a short distance away as her sardonic comment reduced to a distracted mumble. "...looking out for a..." A chill went down her spine at the crooked grin that stretched his scarred lips. "...scar."

She stopped her conversation altogether when she caught movement from the man's hand–

Her eyes widened.

Raising a gun in the direction of...

Aligning her sight with the weapon, Erin's eyes drifted back to Ciel who tried to follow her gaze. A shocking realization clicked with her thoughts – _he_ was the target.

 _Shit._

The ominous sound of the gun cocking spurred her into action.

" _Get down_!"

Erin hastily grabbed a fistful of Ciel's collar, pulling him down to the ground behind the nearest table with her as the sound of bullets rang above them. Screams tore through the air around them as she laid on the ground with him, watching in horror as the party break apart into chaos.

Erin casted a glance over at Ciel to find him looking strangely calm for someone who was nearly shot. And he was talking on his phone...?

She blinked.

What the fuck?

"I knew it." Ciel murmured in a low voice with a smug smile and promptly cut the call, slipping his phone back into his suit. "Not a bad reflex, Keighley," He finally turned to address Erin to find her already staring back with an incredulous face.

"Shouldn't you be a little concern about the man who is about to kick this table away and maybe... _murder us_?" Erin sneered through gritted teeth, sarcasm hanging on every word.

Silence.

"Let's get out of here, Keighley."

"No shit, Sherlock."

* * *

 **a/n:** Didn't expect this chapter to contain action scenes, did you? In case you're worried, I assure you that no harm was inflicted on the important characters.

The plot has thickened – who do you think was the one behind the attack? You will find out soon. In the writing wise, I hope I managed to get the characters down. Also, I would like to apologize in advance for any grammatical error I might have made. Please point them out in your review if you found _any_.


End file.
